Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

How to Make Tomato Basil Soup:

• Sauté the vegetables: Add the carrots, onion and celery to a pot with a little bit of oil and sauté them for a few minutes.
• Add: diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, oregano, and basil. Bring to boil and cook for several minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

• Blend. Use an immersion blender or regular blender (you may need to do this in batches, depending on how big your blender is) and purée the soup until smooth. Return it to the soup pot.
• Make the roux: In a separate pot, add butter and melt on medium heat. Stir in the flour and whisk together constantly for about 10 minutes or until the roux is a nice golden brown color.
• Add the roux: Stir a big ladle full of soup into the roux-it will start to form a thick paste.  Slowly add another 2-3 cups of warm soup to the roux, whisking it until smooth. Add the mixture to the soup pot and stir well to combine.

• Stir in parmesan cheese, half and half (or milk), and salt and pepper. Add additional oregano and fresh basil as desired, to taste. Stir well. Cook for a few more minutes until warmed through.

For Slow Cooker Tomato Soup:

1. Add to slow cooker: diced tomatoes, carrots, onions, celery, tomato paste, chicken broth, oregano, and basil.
2. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.
3. Make the roux: About 30 minutes before the soup is ready, prepare a roux. Melt the butter over medium low heat in a skillet and add the flour. Whisk together constantly for about 10 minutes or until the roux is a nice golden brown color.
4. Thicken soup.  Slowly add 1 cup of the soup from the slow cooker to the roux–it will start to form a thick paste.  Slowly add another 3 cups of warm soup to the roux. Whisk together until smooth. Add the roux mixture to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
5. Blend: Pour soup into blender (you may need to do this in batches, depending on how big your blender is) Purée until smooth. Return to the slow cooker.
6. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, half and half (or milk), and salt and pepper. Add additional oregano and basil if needed, to taste. Stir well.
7. Finish cooking. Cover and cook on low for another 20-30 minutes or until warm.

You can also make Tomato Basil Soup in the Instant Pot!

Storing and Freezing Instructions:

• Store tomato basil soup covered, in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
• Freeze: To properly freeze this soup, leave out the cream and shredded cheese before freezing it. Then add the cream and cheese after reheating. (Otherwise they may curdle when reheated from frozen.)

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Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

This creamy Tomato Basil Soup is restaurant-quality DELICIOUS and it's loaded with hidden vegetables.

4.84 from 53 votes

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Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 264kcal

Author: Lauren Allen

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes , with the juice
• ▢ 2 carrots , finely diced (about 1 cup)
• ▢ 1 small onion , finely diced (about 1 cup)
• ▢ 3 ribs celery , finely diced (about 1 cup)
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• ▢ 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• ▢ ½ cup butter
• ▢ ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• ▢ 1½ cups half and half (or whole milk)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Add oil to a large soup pot over medium high heat. Once hot, add carrots, onions, and celery and sauté them for a few minutes.
• Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken broth, oregano, and dried basil. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for several minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
• Use an immersion blender or regular blender (you may need to do this in batches, depending on how big your blender is) to puree the soup until smooth. (This step is optional, if you like a smooth soup). Return it to the soup pot.
• In a separate pot, prepare the roux. Add butter to the pot over medium low heat and allow to melt. Stir in the flour and whisk together constantly for about 10 minutes or until the roux is a nice golden brown color.
• Add a big ladle full of the soup to the roux--it will start to form a thick paste.  Add a few more big scoops of soup to the roux and stir well until smooth. Add the roux mixture to soup pot and stir to combine.
• Stir in the parmesan cheese, half and half, salt, pepper and basil. Add additional oregano and basil if needed, to taste. Stir well. Cook for a few more minutes until warmed through.
• Store tomato basil soup covered in the refrigerator for up to one week.
• Try it served in a yummy homemade bread bowl!

Notes

Slow Cooker: Add diced tomatoes, carrots, onions, celery, tomato paste, chicken broth, oregano, and basil to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 5-6 hours until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft. Continue with step three of the above recipe.

Or make it in the Instant Pot.

Freezer Instructions: To properly freeze this soup, leave out the cream and shredded cheese before freezing it. Then add the cream and cheese after reheating. (Otherwise they may curdle when reheated from frozen.)

Nutrition

Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 1095mg | Potassium: 326mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 3445IU | Vitamin C: 12.5mg | Calcium: 226mg | Iron: 1mg

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Recipe adapted from The Recipe Critic.

I originally shared this recipe December 2013. Updated September 2019.